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Chapter 29: Broken Path

Ryder opened his eyes to a bright light that hung right above him. He tried to sit up and move his arms, but leather straps bound his entire body to a chair. Along with straps around his arms and legs, Ryder noticed cuffs around both his wrists and ankles. The straps were strong. At full strength Ryder couldn't break free from them or use the Force to undo them. Ryder sighed as he laid back down frustrated.

'I wonder if they ended up getting away,' he thought.

The sound of a door sliding open came from behind him. "Well look who's awake, Gambino," said one of the voices from behind.

No one responded, but Ryder could tell that there were two others with him because of the footsteps.

One by one, people walked in front of him. The first man wore an orange jacket and had blonde hair. Colby. The second person was tall and fit with midnight black hair. The head of the Council of Anubis, Gambino. Lastly was the man in the lab coat, Dr. van Hoosier.

"Now, now, Ryder. Why did you have to go and do that? I mean it doesn't really hinder us. It just makes us look bad to our allies," said Gambino putting his hands on Ryder's left arm and leaning over him.

"Those kids knew what you were turning them into," said Ryder." Just little war robots to be u—."

Colby punched Ryder in the stomach causing him to cough up spit and some blood.

Dr. van Hoosier began saying, "Looks like my Quake-Quake Fruit powers really did a number on you."

Ryder never realized that the Quake-Quake Fruit was that powerful.

"There's a lot you don't know about us," Colby continued. He held out his hand, and suddenly, Ryder's head began shaking. Ryder's screams echoed throughout the entire academy as blood rolled from his eyes like tears. Colby moved his hand away, and the pain Ryder felt subsided along with the shaking of his head.

Ryder took a few deep breathes and said, "So you can use the Force too?"

"Like he said," Gambino told him. "There are a lot of things that you don't know about us."

Leaning away from Ryder, Gambino looked at Dr. van Hoosier and Colby and said, "Can I have a minute with our dear friend here?"

"Have as long as you want," said van Hoosier as he and Colby started walking to the door.

Once the two left the room, Gambino raised the back of Ryder's chair up to where they could make eye contact. "Shall we get down to business?" asked Gambino.

Ryder didn't say a word.

"Alright then. How long have you been a spy for the US?" he asked.

Once again Ryder didn't say a word.

"The whole time? When you came back from your last mission?"

Ryder remained speechless.

"You're only making this harder on yourself," said Gambino.

Gambino began weaving hand signs. Right before saying the name of the jutsu, Gambino said, "You know you're closer to being dead that fully healed right now? This could kill you."

Again, nothing from his captive.

"Fine. Chidori Stream!" yelled out Gambino.

Lightning shot out both of Gambino's palms ricocheting off the ceiling and walls. Ryder was left defenseless as strong bolts of lightning hit him continuously for around five seconds. Gambino closed his hands and the lightning ceased.

Gambino walked up to Ryder who was now smoking because of the intense heat of the lightning bolts and said, "This is your last chance to say something or else I might just kill you."

A soft voice came from Ryder. Gambino leaned in closer to hear what Ryder was saying and heard, "Eat a dick."

Gambino took a step back, smiled then said, "I'm gonna enjoy this."

He began weaving more hand seals and said, "Earth Style: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique."

Nothing as of scenery changed. Ryder only noticed more confidence in Gambino, now. He walked next to Ryder, raised his fist and slowly set it on Ryder's knee cap.

Suddenly cracks and shatters could be heard in the room and the bones in Ryder's knee were shattered to pieces from that one gentle touch. Ryder screamed bloody murder as the restrained kept him from moving much at all.

"How about some more you piece of shit?" asked Gambino gleefully.

On the other side of the window, Colby, Dr. van Hoosier, Strike Len, and Stacy (aka Serqet) stood there and watched as Gambino gently punched him about ten more times in various locations. There was about a one minute pause where it looked like Gambino was talking to Ryder.

"What do you think he's talking to him about?" asked Strike Len.

"Could be quite literally anything," said Colby in response.

Right after Colby finished speaking, Gambino reared back his fist and punched Ryder as hard as he could in the stomach. There was no movement from the restrained captive, so the one's behind the window thought he was for sure dead.

Gambino walked through the door where everyone else was standing and said to Stacy, "Go use Dr. Blythe and heal him. Make sure he still feels the pain when he wakes up. You know what? Leave his legs broken."

"Got it," she responded walking into the room where Ryder seemed to be dead.

Gambino then turned to Colby and said, "Organize a detail to take him to Scarlet Bars Galactic Max Security Prison on the planet, Sadala. You and Strike escort him there."

"We'll get on that right away," Colby told Gambino.

Inside the room, Stacy knelt down next to Ryder and said, "Now, why did you have to go and screw things up? I was starting to like you using me to get that holocron you wanted."

Ryder slowly opened his eyes. The pain he felt everywhere was to great for him to even speak. All he could do was feel pain and listen.

"I guess it's too bad that it was really a tracking device," revealed Stacy with a smile. "Now we know exactly where your base is. Looks like superstition was good for us this time around. You know, Gambino took in a student about ten years ago, and he ended up betraying him too!"

Stacy took off Ryder's black hoodie and long sleeve shirt then summoned Dr. Blythe using her Nen ability. Dr. Blythe is a Hatsu that looks like a blue skinned doll with purple hair. It wears a tan shirt with a red cross on its sleeve. Using its hands and mechanical extensions, it can repair any injury except for death.

Stacy slowly moved her hand down Ryder's chiseled chest and down to his pants. "Well, the boss did say to fix you up, and I need the skin exposed for Dr. Blythe to heals your knees and pelvis," she said giggling to herself.

Colby and Strike were watching from the other room as Stacy took off Ryder's shorts and tights. Colby turned to Strike and said, "Let's go. This is about to be disgusting."

Strike looked at Colby with a blank stare and said, "Are we supposed to care about Ryder? He betrayed us. I couldn't care less what happens to him. She can do whatever she wants with him."

With no one around anymore, Stacy pulled off Ryder's black shoes, shorts, and leggings. He was now laying there bare naked.

"Well. I guess I should at least do the same thing," she said with a smile. She took off her top and revealed her bare chest. The twisted council member giggled as she straddled Ryder and emerged herself in absolute ecstasy.

About twenty minutes passed, and Stacy was more than satisfied with her fun. She slowly stood up allowing for maximum pleasure and knelt by Ryder once again. Using her Nen, she commanded Dr. Blythe to fix any broken bones and damaged organs.

After being off the transport ship for about seven hours, President Reed, General Rodan, General Hall, Dr. Rogers, Murdoch, Katie, and Nero gather inside of a conference room to talk about how to save Ryder.

"Look, Ryder is a key piece to our success. We need him here," said Rodan to the President.

"I'm not saying that we don't need him. I just think that this is a highly dangerous mission that could significantly weaken our forces if it goes wrong," President Reed explained. "We can't risk sending anyone on Zakee's team or any the Shadows."

Nero quickly stood up and said, "I'll go. Just by myself." His eyes fiercely locked onto President Reed's eyes. "I'm the strongest of the Shadows, and I am the fastest. I left him down there. Let me do it."

"This is what I mean, Nero," said the President. "We can't afford to lose you either. Like you said: you're the strongest and fastest of the Shadows. That means that you are one of the strongest and fastest we have… period."

Katie stood up, looked at Nero, then back at President Reed and said, "The two of us are going to go regardless of your decision. We aren't going to let him sit in that prison, and let his hope die out as he dies inside there." She paused to take a breath. "We had already planned on doing this from the beginning. This was just a formality to let you know that we plan on doing this. After all, we are the Shadows."

"Just think about this, Katie," responded the President. "The Council wants us to go after him. We would be falling into their trap. While you are gone, they could very well attack us, and our best mechanic and one of the top five if not three soldiers would be missing."

Murdoch raised his head from his hand. "Look Mr. President. I don't think you heard Katie. We're going. You might be President and all, but what she said is final."

President Reed rested his head in his palms and exhaled deeply. "Well it looks like I can't stop you," he confessed.

The President stood up, looked at both Nero and Katie and said, "Your mission is to go to Scarlet Bars Galactic Max Security Prison and free Ryder Jace. Accept at your own risk. You may leave when you're ready."

A smile appeared on their faces as they turned and hurried out of the conference room with Murdoch close behind them.

"Hey guys!" he yelled ahead. Nero and Katie slowed down and turned around. "I'm coming too," said Murdoch.

Nero looked at him in the eyes and said, "No. You can't. The other Shadows and students from the academy need you here. Train them and make sure they are ready for war. They look up to you. They need you. Here."

Murdoch hung his head. Nero smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "He's not going to die. We'll get him back."

Murdoch looked up and smiled. Those were the same words he told Nero when they left Ryder at the Council's academy.

"Make sure all of y'all come back," Murdoch said.

Katie and Nero nodded then ran for the Rogue Shadow.

Ryder woke up to a shock of pain that ran up both of his shins.

'At least there isn't a bright light in my face this time,' he thought. "But, that sure was hell back there," he muttered.

Get out of here. I can feel a dark presence here.

Ryder looked around the room and noticed that he was cuffed to a normal school chair. He saw that there were reddish brown blood stains on the white tile floor. The walls and ceiling were blue and looked like steel.

There was a single window on the ceiling that must have been about two feet by two feet. It seemed like it sat there to mock the possibility of escaping.

"Oh, so you thought that was hell back there?" asked a voice from behind him. The voice laughed with a crackle. The sound of something rolling came from behind him and gradually made its way in front of Ryder. "You know nothing, Ryder Jace."

He's the dark presence, Ryder.

"Before I start let me introduce myself," said the lanky man. "My name is Dr. Boswell. I'm the Head of Research and Technology for ISIS." He leaned in close to Ryder and whispered, "And I'm in cahoots with the Council."

The doctor leaned back and cracked his neck.

Ryder cringed at the sight and sound.

"When I first heard that the legendary mercenary X was coming to my prison, it gave me one of the greatest feelings I've ever experienced," said the lanky man with glasses.

This doctor had a crooked smile and a crazed look in his eyes. He wore a white lab coat, khaki pants that were tucked into black rain boot, and a black t-shirt that had the words, 'Having fun yet?' typed on them in a bold, white font.

"However," said the man in the lab coat. "I've heard such great things about you." He leaned in close to him with his blood shot eyes widened. "So, please don't disappoint me." He turned around laughing, or better yet, cackling.

Ryder tried to squirm out the chains that bound his wrists, but his arms barely responded to his commands. He was once again stuck.

No way out and all alone.

Helpless.

Doing something on his cart, the man said, "There no need to move around and try to escape. I've injected you with a fluid called, Seprium. It cancels any and all the powers that your body holds. One's you know of, and one's you don't know of. It also makes you limp for a time being while being able to feel any sensation. That is, if you put in the right dosage. That way you will have no defenses when my knives and scalpels slice right through you."

Dr. Boswell turned around with a pair of keys. He walked up close to Ryder and said, "Now, I don't see a need for these anymore."

He walked behind him and unshackled his hands; however, due to the Seprium, his arms swung down by his side. Dr. Boswell picked them up, slid his table in front of Ryder, and set his hands on the table. Ryder saw all the tools that were on the table. There was a syringe, scalpel, carving knife, scissors, saw, a giant clamp, and two pairs of pliers.

"Now before we begin, I'm gonna need some participation from you. Something to keep you sane," he said putting his hand to his head to think. "I've got it! You'll count down from one thousand!" Dr. Boswell clapped in excitement as he picked up a pair of bottle-nose pliers off his table.

"This will be a little introduction, so I'll start a little light for the first day," said Dr. Boswell grinning as he moved his pliers to Ryder's hand. "Let's start with these." Dr. Boswell cracked his neck as a sign of pleasure.

Ryder screamed in dread and pain as the sound of flesh stripping was heard throughout the room.

"What number are we at now?" asked Dr. Boswell.

Panting, moaning, and sniffling up tears, Ryder said, "Three hundred and seventy-two."

Dr. Boswell looked up at one of the cameras and said, "Get Andrew Maddox to come take our friend, Ryder, to his cell. And tell him to clean up this mess!"

The lanky doctor turned around at Ryder and smiled. "See ya soon... My special friend."

"Three hundred and seventy-one… Three hundred and seventy," continued Ryder in a broken voice as Dr. Boswell walked out the room and a younger man walked in with a mop.

This guy had short brown hair and was about five feet and ten inches. He was wearing a lab coat just like the doctor.

As Andrew was mopping up the blood on the ground, he said to Ryder, "You'll be healed by the time you come back. It's their way of making sure you still feel pain."

"How… How could someone enjoy doing this," Ryder said with his voice cracking every other word.

"Don't know. That's above my pay grade. It's just my job to clean you up and take you back to your cell," replied Andrew.

He paused mopping and said, "This is gonna be easier to do with you in your cell." Andrew reached in his pocket and pulled out a syringe that was labeled, 'Seprium.'

"With this dosage, you will be able to control your body, but you still won't have any of your powers. It will also clot your blood, so you won't bleed out," explained Andrew.

He stuck Ryder in the forearm and injected the serum into his system. Andrew then went to the side of the room and grabbed a wheel chair to put Ryder in for transportation to his cell.

It was a short ride to his cell. Every bump and turn made his body ache in absolute pain. Ryder was now getting the ability to move again.

He looked down at his hands and noticed that where his fingernails use to be, it was just purple skin due to bruising and blood all over them. Along with that, both thumbs were gone, and the wound was cauterized. Ryder thought it was to make sure he wouldn't bleed out, but since Andrew told him that the serum does that, he knew that it was just for pain. Ryder assumed that his feet were the same as his hands. He could also feel the pain of gashes along his body, especially his back, sides, shoulders, and legs.

"Here we are," said Andrew. "We know how much you like to fight, so we have you on the edge of the Gladiator Pit."

"W-what's that?" Ryder asked.

"A pit that prisoners can fight in to release their anger or just because they like to fight, but since no one has their powers, it's just a fist fight until someone is knocked out," explained Andrew who laughed at the end of saying that. "But, it looks like you will not be participating with the condition that you're in."

Andrew opened the cell door then wheeled Ryder in and dumped him on the ground. Then he wheeled away whistling a melancholy tune.

Ryder sat up and crawled to the corner. The cell was made up of steel bars and those were the only thing separating them from their cellmates as well.

Ryder was freezing cold from leaning against the cold bars. He knew that he had lost a lot of blood too. It didn't help that all he had left were his black shoes, shorts, and hoodie that had its sleeves ripped off.

All he could hear around him were yells and chants cheering on a fight in the pit. Ryder crawled his way to the back of his cell that was on the edge of the pit and stood up to watch the match.

He saw a man that was at about six and a half feet tall and weighed close to two hundred and fifty pounds. His opponent looked about six feet tall and maybe two hundred pounds. He was getting the snot beaten out of him. Each punch that the bigger guy threw made Ryder flashback to his time with Dr. Boswell, so he flinched.

"Damn. They really messed you up in there," said a voice coming from the cell to his right.

Ryder sat down with his back up against the part of the cell that faced the pit and said, "Yeah."

He didn't say much. Ryder didn't really want to talk about his time in there.

"Hahahaha," laughed his cell mate. "The Ryder Jace. Mercenary X. The Shadow of Typhon! The man that broke students out of the Council of Anubis' academy! Has been brought to his knees because of some pain. Incredible. Truly incredible."

Ryder looked to where the voice was coming from to see his cellmate, but darkness shrouded the cell completely.

"You know," said the cellmate. "The larger man in there actually has incredible powers. He has the power of two Devil Fruits. One fruit allows him to create giant cracker soldiers that are tough and pack a punch with a sword. The second fruit allows him to transform into a giant Buddha. It's called the Human-Human Fruit, Model Buddha. He'd make a fantastic soldier if he gets out."

Ryder, still looking in the direction of his cellmate, asked him, "So, what'd you do to get captured."

His cellmate laughed. "Like they could bring me in here. I voluntarily broke in."

"What?! Why would you do that?" asked Ryder shocked.

"So that I can break him out," responded the cellmate.

Ryder let a few moments of silence go by before he asked one more thing, "Who are you?"

The cellmate scoffed at the question.

Ryder felt his head begin to throb. His vision began to blur then fade to black. Sliding down the bar of the cell, Ryder fell to the ground. He passed out due to loss of blood and shock from the pain.

"Ryder Jace. It is now time for your next appointment," said Andrew Maddox unlocking the door to his cell.

Ryder slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his neighboring cell and didn't see anyone there. It was still pitch black.

Andrew pulled out his phone then threw a dart into Ryder. The dart and phone were connected through Nen, so now, Andrew could manipulate Ryder however he saw fit. However, he usually only did this so that he could inject the Seprium serum into his patients.

He sat Ryder down in the wheel chair and injected the Seprium into his biscept then took out his manipulation needle. Ryder regained consciousness and remembered his curiosity about his cellmate.

As Andrew was rolling Ryder backwards out of the cell, his cellmate walked up to the front of the cell where the only light was. His cellmate had the same short, black, flippy hair as Ryder. The same blue eyes that he reminded him of his mother, and a strong chiseled jaw line that resembled his father's chin.

Andrew noticed the similarities between the two and said, "Damn that's freaky. You could honestly pass as brothers."

The cellmate smirked and said, "Have fun in there, Ryder."

As he said that, Ryder knew that his brother, Khilor, was indeed his cellmate.

Andrew wheeled Ryder into the same room where he was tortured earlier. Ryder looked back at Andrew and asked frantically, "How could they be ready to start again? It feels like it's only been two hours."

"It's been thirty-three hours. You've coming in and out of consciousness in your cell for quite some time now. Plus, they make the rules, not me. And like I said, they'll heal all your wounds before they start again, so Dr. Boswell could've just gotten some water then go at it again. However, he showed mercy," Andrew said.

Ryder closed his eyes, then opened them again. This time, instead of the torturing room, Ryder was face to face with his Force Jinchuriki, Anakin Skywalker.

"Are you going to help me get out of this or not!" yelled Ryder.

Anakin looked up at Ryder and said, I've already tried to give you my power. Nothing happened! You think I want this!

The Force being began to laugh. I should've seen this coming. You start off as a mercenary. You 'accepted' the contracts for people you thought deserved death, but failed to accept that there are consequences to those choices… I WOULD KNOW.

Ryder stared at the ground without saying a word.

And now, you've put your friends at risk of death. They're going to try and save you, but they're only going to die.

Quickly looking into Anakin's eyes, Ryder glared at him. Instead of sky blue eyes, they burned yellow and orange.

Ha. Every choice you make. Every route you take; all you do is leave broken paths.

Andrew brought Ryder to the chair and forcefully put the injured Ryder in his seat. "Okay," he said chaining his hands behind his back and his legs to the legs of the chair. "Let's get these bad boys off." Andrew took off Ryder's shirt and shoes.

This was the first time that Ryder was able to see the wounds that were inflicted on other parts of his body. There were areas where skin was peeled off his abdomen area and sides. There were also deep cuts on his chest and arms. His toenails had been peeled off as well, but none of his toes were missing. Instead, deep gashes were made to his shins and thighs.

Walking away from Ryder, Andrew told him, "Dr. Boswell will be here in any second." Andrew's presence activated the motion sensor door, and so it slid open to reveal a waiting Dr. Boswell.

Andrew looked back and said, "I take that back. Seems like he's ready to go right now."

Dr. Boswell smiled at his introduction and began walking towards Ryder with his iconic rolling table. Ryder could hear the clinging of his instruments, but there was something extra now. There was a white cloth covering something that looked little like it would be a large cup.

Ryder stared at his torturer. His eyes still yellow and red.

Ryder's anger towards him only made Dr. Boswell happier. He cracked his neck out of habit for pleasure.

"So, you're acting tough today. Mister you can't scare me. But yesterday, you were screaming and crying. Typical. All you are is just an act." The doctor continued walked towards Ryder.

"Anyway, welcome to my favorite part," Dr. Boswell announced. He placed the table a few feet in front of Ryder so that he could get a good look at the tools. They were the same as last time.

Dr. Boswell stood in front of the shaking and teary eyed Ryder. He still remained silent.

"So, I'm about to unchain your hands, but in order that you don't try to fight back, I'll just beat the shit out of you real quickly," said the lanky doctor.

"Well, I guess before I do that, I should heal your external injuries as well as regenerate your missing appendages." Once Dr. Boswell said this, he closed his eyes, looked to the ceiling, then inhaled.

The lanky doctor's body began to flash a bright blue color. After a few seconds of flashing the blue color, the flashing stopped, and Dr. Boswell was now a glowing, blue humanoid figure. On his forehead was a circle with a dot on its inside.

"My power is Dr. Manhattan. One of my powers is to create and destroy matter itself. Quite remarkable isn't it," he proclaimed.

Dr. Boswell held out his palm towards Ryder. Suddenly, the gashes began to close, and his thumbs began to reappear as if nothing ever happened to them.

Once he was practically healed, Dr. Boswell began to speak again saying, "Another plus of this power is its superhuman strength." He reared back and began punching Ryder in the face, stomach, and sides with incredible force.

After about a minute of beating a bloodied Ryder, Dr. Boswell deactivated his powers and unlocked the lock that restrained his wrists. "Now be a good boy and don't do anything stupid."

Ryder's eyes were sunken as his body ached from the fresh beating. Blood covered his face and ran down to his chest. Bruises had already formed on his stomach and chest as well.

Dr. Boswell chained both wrists to the arms of the chair we was in. "Good job, Ryder. However, to reduce your movement, I'm still going to chain you down. Now onto the fun part. Oh, and don't forget to start counting," said the doctor smiling then he cracked his neck.

Just like the day before, Dr. Boswell started with the fingernails. Next, he moved onto the toenails, and then he used the scissors to cut off every toe and finger. Ryder was slowly mumbling numbers. "Eight hundred and thirteen… Eight hundred and twelve…"

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

"Six hundred and thirty-nine…"

"No… NOO! STOOPPPP!"

"Two hundred and forty-five…"

"Good job, Ryder. You're doing magnificently well. Better than any patient I have every had!" said the crazed doctor with glee. "Now this will be the main course, but I don't want you to pass out, so I'm going to inject you with a little bit of Adrenaline."

Dr. Boswell grabbed a syringe off the table and stuck it into Ryder's gashed up arm. The only reason why Ryder hadn't bled out yet was because just about every gash, cut, or removal was followed by that area being cauterized. He went back to his table, put the syringe down, and picked up the saw.

Ryder had gashes and burns everywhere. He no longer had fingers or toes, and one ear was even gone. He was covered in enough blood to where he could pass as either a zombie or dead in general. Tears began rolling down his face. He had screamed so loud for so often that his voice was nearly gone.

"What number were we on again?" asked Dr. Boswell as he cracked his neck.

"Two hundred and forty-three," replied Ryder.

"Wrong," said the doctor in a serious voice. He swiftly elbowed Ryder across his face making him spit up a large amount of blood. "Two hundred and forty-four. Do go on now."

"Two hundred and forty-fo— AHHHHHH!"

Dr. Boswell was sawing off Ryder's left hand.

"LOUDER RYDER!"

Every slice, Ryder grimaced and moaned, but he continued and say as he twitched, "Two hundred and forty-four."

"Two hundred and two…"

"Two hundred and one…"

Dr. Boswell grabbed both of Ryder's hands and threw them in a tin trash can that was behind Ryder's chair.

"Look here, Ryder," Dr. Boswell said. Ryder stopped counting and looked up at him with sunken eyes that showed nothing but pain and sorrow.

"The weak never survive. For instance, you wouldn't be here if you WERE strong, but you're weak. Just like all the people you've killed. The weak are violated, oppressed, afflicted, and prosecuted," he said with a laugh. "Just like what you're experiencing."

Dr. Boswell walked over to his table and lifted the white cloth and revealed a jar. He took the top off the jar and reached his hand into it then pulled something out.

What Ryder was looking at in front of him was a four inch baby snake squirming in the fingers of Dr. Boswell.

The doctor inched closer to Ryder.

"N—No… D—Don't…," whimpered Ryder.

"Don't worry I had it defanged," said the doctor with in insane smile and look in his eye. He thrusted his hand with the snake at Ryder's face and laughed as it slithered up Ryder's nose.

Doctor Boswell looked on laughing as Ryder's body began to violently shake.

Ryder's eyes opened to Andrew cleaning his blood from the ground. He looked down and saw this his hands, with their fingers, and his toes were back on his body. Very slowly, Ryder turned to Andrew and said, "Hey… Is my ear back too?

Andrew turned to him and said, "Yeah. Dr. Boswell decided to give you back your removed limbs as a present of making it through the session without dying. However, he didn't heal all the gashes and burns. But now that you're awake, I can take you back to your cell."

Ryder looked down at his body. His arms and legs still had their deep gashes. Random places on his body were red and brown from fresh and dried burns.

Just like before, Andrew picked up Ryder and placed him in the wheel chair. Ryder moaned as he was lifted and placed into it. This time, Ryder was going back with only his black shorts on.

When Andrew reached Ryder's cell, he unlocked the bar door and wheeled Ryder inside. Tipping the wheel chair over, Ryder fell to the cold surface that he hoped would be his bed for the night. Andrew locked the door behind him, then went to mop up the remaining blood and mess.

"So, how'd that session go," asked his cellmate walking over to where the two cells shared the same wall.

Slowly, Ryder crawled to the back of his cell and sat against it. Shaking, Ryder said, "How do you think, dipshit."

"Woah there. I'm just trying to be a thoughtful brother," he said.

Ryder glared at his cellmate then said, "I forgot about that." Ryder looked back forward and said, "Why should I even be talking to you."

Khilor scoffed and said, "Cause you'll probably go crazy if you don't. I know that your Force buddy inside has gone quiet."

Khilor leaned on the bars to get a better look at his little brother. The skin color difference between his pale face, arms, and feet made it evident that the pinkness of his hands, ear, and toes indicated that those appendages were new. However, the nails did not regenerate. His torturer wanted him to continue to feel that pain.

Ryder remained looking forward. Anakin hadn't said anything to him even though he had tried many times to talk to the Force being within him.

"So, what did he do? Cut off your hands, toes and ears? Then cut you up?" asked Khilor.

Ryder exhaled deeply. "And he put a baby snake up my nose," he said quietly.

Khilor eyes widened. "There's a lot of room inside of a head for a baby snake to wander. Damn, man," he said.

Even though they were enemies, Khilor still felt bad for his brother. They shared a few good memories even if those didn't quite matter anymore. He assumed the same position as Ryder. Sitting down with his back against the pit.

"Why'd you change your name? I like Connor better," said Ryder.

"I didn't want the name that our father gave me," said Connor. "You might not remember, but he had a choice. He didn't have to send me and mom away. There were a few days where we could have left the country or even planet and lived a normal life, but he threw it all away. And when we were gone," he said turning his head and looking at Ryder. "He became a drunk and didn't even care about you."

A few moments of silence past. "Bare it so no one else has to, Ryder. And don't you dare die in there either. That would be a disgrace to our mother who suffered for years and was killed for no reason. Do this, then fight me like a man when the time comes," said Connor.

A few tears rolled down Ryder's as he tried to sniffle up his runny nose. "I don't know if I'll make it, though. I can't do anything in there to fight back, and if I could, my body is too much in pain to do so. I can feel my body giving out on me."

"Same old Ryder," said Connor. "When the going gets tough, you find a different path to follow, or you stand there and do nothing while others get hurt. Leaving a wake of brokenness behind you."

Connor looked at Ryder and said, "Look at me."

Ryder turned his head towards his brother.

"Surviving this will be key to truly unlocking the powers you were born with. There's a reason why you weren't named the Jinchuuriki for the Nine-Tails," Connor said.

Connor saw Andrew coming their way with a wheel chair. He knew what that meant. "Don't give up. That's not what WE do. Fight me at full strength the next time we see each other," said Connor.

"Alright, Ryder," said Andrew at the door to his cell. "It's time to go."

"Endure it, Ryder. Become something new. Shed your skin and become better. Gain strength and power," encourage Ryder's older brother.

Ryder dreaded seeing that wheelchair enter his cage, but the words of Connor made him feel more confident. Andrew picked up Ryder and placed him in the wheelchair, and off they went into Dr. Boswell's play room.

A week had gone by and Andrew set Ryder in his desk just like the times before. He chained his hands to the arms of the chair this time, and still chained each leg to the legs of the chair.

The door to the room opened right as Andrew finished chaining his legs to the chair. He backed away from Ryder and bowed as Dr. Boswell walked past him and towards Ryder. The only thing Dr. Boswell was doing was smiling at the fun he was about to have.

Ryder blacked out from reality and dove deep into his subconscious.

Blindfolded, he felt a warm, rough hand cradle his cheek. The blindfold fell from his face to show the face of Korvin. Ryder's eye gaped open as wide as they could.

"Master… Korvin…," muttered Ryder.

"Long time no see kiddo," he replied. "Looks like you've taken some pretty bad beatings as of lately." He laughed. "How amusing." Korvin looked over his shoulder as a loud bang came from behind.

Korvin looked back at Ryder and said, "Looks like your real Master is here."

Dr. Boswell was walking to him with a metal club in his hand. "Have you been counting?" he asked.

Ryder nodded and picked it back up saying, "Seven hundred and ninety –seven."

Dr. Boswell made Ryder keep counting even as he drove scalpels down his arms, beat him with a club, broke his bones, or removed his body parts. Each time he would make them reappear, but the pain stayed.

Ryder closed his eyes in the moment and saw Korvin once again.

"You know, when I took you on, one of your conditions when you were a mercenary was that you would be able to pick and choose the missions to make sure you were killing for the right reason, but I find that way of thinking very childish. Because, killing is killing. No matter who it is. I blame that outlook on your dad. He never taught you much, so you formed these ideals from your friends and teachers at school. This makes you weak. It makes you second guess if you should kill or not which can put your own survival at risk," preached Korvin.

A surge of pain shot through Ryder as the metal club came down on his forearm crushing that bone.

"Ryder," said Dr. Boswell. "Do you know why I enjoy doing this to you so much?"

Ryder didn't answer. He was just shaking from the unbelievable amount of pain he was feeling.

"It's because you have an extraordinary amount of life force. I've never met someone with so much before." Dr. Boswell walked behind Ryder and said in his ear, "Because Korvin trained you, you grew in powers that you didn't know you had. And you grew exponentially. That's right, Typhon. Korvin's training. I'm talking about you, Ryder."

Tears and sweat streamed down Ryder's face as he viciously shook. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the same snake, but a little bit wider being held next to his face.

"This is a baby coral snake. Do you know about them?" asked Dr. Boswell. "Well, I'm getting antsy because I wanna…" he said barely containing his laughter. "Put this up your nose!" he said laughing hysterically.

Ryder stared at the snake while screaming, "No! Please… D-Don't do it!"

Dr. Boswell reached towards Ryder's nose and let the baby snake crawl up inside of Ryder. Ryder screamed in pain and agony and frantically stomped his feet as he felt the snake crawl up his nose and inside his brain cavity. He began to cut his wrists as he tried to get from the chain that bound them.

"Yes, Ryder! Scream! Let me hear your pain! Let me hear your life force trickle down to nothing!" yelled Dr. Boswell as he laughed at Ryder's pain and took pleasure in it.

After about five minutes of yelling, crying, and trying to break free, the snake crawled out from Ryder's ear and fell on the floor.

Ryder's head was hung low. His face was drenched in sweat, tears, and blood.

Suddenly, Ryder's surroundings were white. He felt two rough hands lift his face up. It was Korvin.

He spoke to Ryder saying, "Kill who deserves to be killed. That's how you grew up. But, just because he's hurting you doesn't mean that he helps others out in tremendous ways. If you kill him, then you'd also be killing the ones he helps," said Korvin looking into Ryder's blank eyes. "Pathetic. Don't you want this guy to suffer just as much as you have? But, you can't do it. A lot of people have died because you have become a part of their life. And it's all…"

"Your."

"Fault."

Ryder felt his head being pulled up by the strong grip of Dr. Boswell. "We were just sent this girl and boy from the Council of Anubis. They are two of the students that escaped because of you. Bounty hunters found them wondering around a department store. Supposedly, they like each other quite a bit. How sad," he said sliding his finger down the girl's cheek.

Rope and chains bound both of their wrists and feet. Their mouths were bound by some cloth tied behind their head.

"All of the drawbacks in this world stems from a lack of ability. The person who told me this is a real sack of shit, but now I'm grateful to him. Ryder, I've come to understand something these past few meetings. Nothing to do with your life force, but you have a very tough mind. So, I've come up with a game for you," said Dr. Boswell. He walked next to the boy and girl. "You get to choose who I kill!"

Dr. Boswell cracked his neck then said, "So, which one?"

Ryder sat there frozen and shaking with the decision at hand.

"If you don't choose, I'll kill them both!"

The lanky doctor walked up into Ryder's face and said, "How about I rephrase the scenario."

He grabbed his own chin and the top of his head and cracked his neck once more then said, "Which one do you want to save?"

Ryder's face grimaced as his mind raced. "Why does it have to be me," he asked looking down at the two students.

The girl, Avery, was squirming about, but the boy, John, looked up at Ryder with a determined face and nodded at him.

"Come on, hurry up and choose," begged Dr. Boswell. "I want to kill!"

"I can't choose something like this!" cried Ryder. "It'd be like I'm the one doing the killing of these innocent people!"

"Pick one! Pick one! Pick one!" yelled the doctor.

"If someone is going to die, just kill me!" yelled back Ryder as tears fell from his face.

Sighing, Dr. Boswell walked over to the girl, picked her up by the throat and began squeezing while yelling back at Ryder, "Well?! Well?! Well?! Whose it going to be Ryder! Choose!"

As the doctor was yelling this back at Ryder, John was squirming for Ryder to choose him instead of the girl. He squirmed and squirmed until he freed his mouth and shouted at Ryder, "Pick me! Me! Pick me, Ryder!"

Ryder was frozen with fear, dread, sorrow, and hatred at himself. He couldn't say anything as the two were yelling at him to pick. Eventually, the doctor squeezed and broke Avery's neck, killing her. Ryder's eyes widened at the sound of the neck snapping, and John yelled in agony.

"Ah, my piece to the game broke didn't she," said the doctor. He threw her limp body aside and walked behind John.

He picked up his head and faced it at Ryder. John's eyes were fierce, filled with rage at Ryder and the doctor. "It's ALL your fault," reiterated Dr. Boswell.

He then thrusted his hand through John's chest, killing him as well. As Dr. Boswell threw his body aside, Ryder's surroundings went white again.

"No… No… It's all my fault," Ryder muttered. He could see the blood and the bodies on the floor in front of him.

"How are you just now getting it," asked Korvin who was standing behind him. "You'll just sit there and keep blaming yourself until what? It's not like it is going to change you. You don't try to change. It's all your fault. That's obvious, isn't it? Is it accident? Fate? Coincidence? There's no such thing as fate. This is simply a combination of one circumstance with another. And who is it that causes these circumstances," asked Korvin as he walked in front of Ryder. With a stern voice he confirmed, "It's you." Korvin paused.

"All the disadvantages in this world stems from a person's lack of ability. He's right, isn't he? This all started because you were a fool the way you handled the world," Korvin said.

He walked next to Ryder and lifted his head. Ryder's eyes were sluggish. Korvin said to him, "If you had been strong and killed Dr. van Hoosier, then you wouldn't be going through this, and John and Avery would still be alive. Avery would at least be alive if you chose John. If only you had been strong then."

Korvin walked in front of Ryder, activated his Sharingan and put Ryder in a genjutsu.

"Don't forget about the future," said Korvin. He showed Gambino, van Hoosier, and Dr. Boswell killing everyone at the US base. Even Katie, Ziggy, and Murdoch. Blood was splattered on the walls, and Dr. Boswell was holding Katie by her neck.

"Let's not forget about the one you care about most," Korvin said. Ryder then saw Nero walking in front of him in the hallways of the Council of Anubis academy.

"Nero!" shouted out Ryder.

Nero stopped walking. He slowly turned to Ryder who was chained to a wall. Tears flowing down his face and uncontrollably shaking. "You're a monster," he told Ryder coldly.

"No… I-I'm…," stuttered Ryder.

"Why did you make me follow you down this fucked up path? Once again, you failed to choose. To be strong. And so, this happened," said Nero.

Suddenly, Dr. Boswell appeared from behind Nero with blood on his face and Nero's throat in his hand.

Ryder began screaming from the thought and experience of the genjutsu. Korvin brought him back to his subconscious. "This is the way of life you've chosen, Ryder. Why are you crying? Why are you sobbing? You made the decision not to choose. Not to be strong, right? You can be brave and smart at times, but while it seems like you're choosing both, you're really forsaking both. Your father was the same way with you and Connor. If he wouldn't have sent your mother away, you would still have a mother, a brother, and a sober father. And possibly a living father."

"Shut up," muttered Ryder.

"It takes a real fool to have loved you. If your father had loved you, then you would have had a real family," said Korvin.

"Stop it," said Ryder.

"That's what you wish he did, isn't it?" asked Korvin.

"Stop talking," Ryder said shaking off tears. The presence of Korvin disappeared. It was just Ryder and his chair alone in the white void of his subconscious.

"Dad, why did you make Mom and Connor go away? Why did you have to make me so lonely? I wished you would have at least done that for me. Not sending them away," Ryder said crying.

Korvin's voice came back and ask, "Even if it meant forsaking your friends?"

Ryder yelled out, "Even if it meant that!"

"Even if it meant hurting someone else?" asked Korvin.

"Even if it meant that!" Ryder screamed out.

"Even if it meant taking his life?" asked Korvin.

Ryder yelled out with pure conviction, "Even if it meant that!"

Korvin appeared in front of Ryder and embraced him in a giant hug and said, "Good job, my apprentice."

He lifted up Ryder's head and said, "There are times when you have to give up one thing to preserve the other. This isn't kindness. It's just weakness if you can't do that. Your father didn't have the strength, the resolve, to say no to the pressures of sending off your family. Can you still remain on the side of being hurt? Can you tolerate someone like Boswell?"

Ryder's face had a slower but steady flow of tears falling, but his eyes were looking at Korvin in complete trust at this point. Ryder responded, "No… I can't!"

On the walls of the white void, it looked like someone splatter painted a part of the wall red. Korvin and Ryder both looked at it. Korvin slowly moved away from Ryder and said, "Your precious, Nero. Your friends at the US might also go through what just happened."

Looking up at Korvin with his tears slowly stopping, Ryder said, "Anyone who tries to take my place from me will get no mercy."

"Do you have that kind of strength?" asked Korvin.

"Yes," Ryder said softly but with confidence. More and more splatter paint hit the walls making it more red.

Suddenly, a red lightsaber was thrusted through Korvin from the back. As the lightsaber was turned off, Korvin's body fell to the ground. Ryder's tears blurred out who it was that killed his old master.

Ryder wiped his eyes. A young man in his mid-twenties stood in front of him. He was wearing dark brown boots, brown pants, and light and dark brown Jedi tunics. He had brown flowy hair and a scar over his right eye.

He looked the man into his eyes and saw pain, anger, and hatred in his red, orange, and yellow eyes.

"Anakin," murmured Ryder.

"No. Vader," he responded in a deep and confident voice.

"You've come back," replied Ryder.

"Does that mean you accept me?" asked Vader.

Ryder looked down at his old master, but his body was no longer there. "No. not fully," said Ryder. Suddenly, the chains that held Ryder to the chair broke, and Ryder was at Anakin's throat. More of the walls had turned red now.

"Even if that's the wrong choice?" asked Vader.

Ryder responded with wide eyes saying, "I'm not the one who's wrong… What's wrong is this world. The other people within it."

All the white on the walls, ceiling, and floor started to get consumed by the color red washing over the pale white.

Vader chuckled and said, "That will do… Ryder."

"To live is to become stronger. So that you can make the hard decisions when the time comes. So that you can save the people you love with your own power," said Vader as his body began to fade into dust.

As a sphere of red energy floating. Vader said, "Now take me."

Ryder, who was no longer crying or shaking, walked over to Vader and reached out his hand. He grabbed the floating orb of energy like a baseball then crushed it in his grip.

Red light shone from his fist and filled the whole void with red light. When the light faded, Ryder was left alone in the red room with his Revan mask now on. There was a new meaning to this mask for him.

He moved his hand to cover a large part of the mask. His left eye remained visible. His orange and yellow eyes slowly spun and turned into a reddish orange Mangekyo Sharingan. As his eyes slowly changed, Ryder's hair slowly began to turn snow white starting with the crown of his head.

Dr. Boswell slapped the metal club into his right hand and said, "Ryder. Our time together has come to an end. It seems that you have finally broken; just like the others. I can tell because the color of your hair is now white. That usually happens when people die on the inside." Dr. Boswell paused to see if he would get a reaction, but Ryder did nothing.

"I have also been given a special mission that I must help carry out since by powers are so useful. I've been tasked with helping to eliminate the main US branch. I must say, I am happy this gets to end, because now I can steal all of your powers using Dr. Manhattan," shouted Dr. Boswell with unsurpassable happiness.

Nero and Katie were coming up close to the Scarlet Bar Max Security Prison; not even a mile away.

"Okay, so I'm going to fly over top and drop you off and then fly off and wait for your signal to come back?" asked Katie.

"You got it. It won't take long. I've got a plan," said Nero with a mischievous smile.

"I know that look, Nero. Don't do anything too crazy. I'd like to wake up tomorrow morning back at the base," said Katie.

Nero gave her a thumbs up and hurried to the loading ramp.

Katie positioned the Rogue Shadow right above the prison and let down the loading ramp. Since the Rogue Shadow had such high tech. equipment, it could hide from just about any scanner.

"Go ahead and jump down!" yelled Katie.

Nero jumped from the ramp and onto the roof of the maximum-security prison. He looked around and didn't see anyone, so he took off to look for an entrance. About a hundred yards away, Nero found a single window about two feet in diameter. "Okay, let see what we have down here."

Nero peered down the window and saw two people. One was a lanky man with midnight black hair wearing a lab coat. The other was a man in his early twenties with snow-white hair. He was wearing just black shorts that were ripped, but it looked like there was a black hoodie right next to him.

The man in the lab coat walked behind the younger man, grabbed his hair, and pulled his head back. The window was positioned so that Nero and the guy with white hair made eye contact at that exact moment.

'I know that face,' thought Ryder.

Do it.

Filled with determination to not let Dr. Boswell kill Nero too, Ryder yanked his arms and legs away from the chair successfully shattering the chains. In one very fast motion that even Nero had a hard time keeping up with him, Ryder did a flip over Dr. Boswell and landed behind him. He gathered the Force and lightning in between his palms and condensed it until it was as small he could get it. Ryder released the ball of Force and lightning which created an EMP type of effect. This made it impossible for Dr. Boswell to turn into Dr. Manhattan.

After this attack, the emergency sirens went off because the monitor room saw it all with a camera being in there.

Katie took the sound of the sirens as Nero's sign for a scoop up.

Nero was looking on in shock as Ryder used the Force to take the carving knife from Boswell's table.

Ryder turned to his torturer then cracked his neck. With one hand, he slowly inched the knife closer and closer to Dr. Boswell. With his other hand, he froze the doctor in place.

"One- hundred and eleven…"

"One-hundred and ten…"

"You think you can kill me?!" yelled the crazed doctor.

"One-hundred and nine," continued Ryder.

The knife was now up against Doctor Boswell's chest. "Mission failed," Ryder told his torturer.

He slowly plunged the knife deep into the doctor's chest then pulled it down to the bottom of his stomach. Ryder had successfully stabbed his heart and disemboweled Dr. Boswell in one smooth attack. He pulled the knife out of his torturer and threw it at the wall, and it stuck into it.

Nero noticed that Ryder was going to put on his hoodie, so he released his kagunes and formed a drill like head with them. He then began bashing on the window which must've been at least a foot thick. Eventually it started to crack, then it gave way and broke down towards Ryder who simply stepped out of the way of the falling pieces of the window.

Gathering the Force into his legs, Ryder jumped up and grabbed the edge of the roof where the window had been busted. Nero grabbed his wrist and began pulling Ryder up. It was harder than usual because he felt something slimy on him, but Nero easily got over it.

Ryder stood up next to his best friend, Nero, right above where he was within inches of losing his life. Nero quickly gave Ryder a big hug and said, "I'm sorry for not being strong enough to beat van Hoosier. For not staying behind with you. I promise. I'll be different from here on out."

A tear fell from Ryder's eye as he said, "Same here, Nero." The two let go of one another and Ryder said, "I have to become stronger to, so that when anyone is in trouble, I can take care of them. I've been too weak."

From a distance Nero heard someone call out, "RYDER!"

Over Ryder's shoulder there was a figure that Nero couldn't make out to be, so Nero taped on Ryder's shoulder and pointed to the person calling for him.

"Stay here," he told Nero who nodded. Ryder jogged over to the figure who was still shrouded in black of night.

Once Ryder got close, he knew who the person was. "Connor… What is it?"

"That has a familiar ring to it," said Khilor. "You might want these." Khilor held out Ryder's Jedi belt and two lightsabers.

"You're right I'll need these the next time I see you," replied Ryder.

Khilor studied Ryder who now had white hair, scars on his legs, sides, and shoulder. He was sure that there was even more that he couldn't see. "They really did rough you up in there, didn't they?"

Ryder nodded slowly with a straight face. "These have been some of the worst days of my life, but in the end, I'm no longer weak. Like you suggested: I changed."

"I'll take it that that's why your hair is now white and your eyes are yellow and orange," said Khilor. "It seems to have happened naturally. You took in a power that changed you as a person... Your old self died."

"And that change is how I've gotten stronger," continued Ryder.

"Well, I've got to thank you for making a big enough distraction to allow me to break my friend out. He's a little shy, but you'll see him around soon," said Khilor with a chuckle.

Ryder showed a soft smile.

A few moments of silence pasted until Khilor said, "I know you know this and feel the same way too, but the next time we see each other, we will be enemies, and I will do my best to kill you. Even if you have gained tremendous power these past days."

"Good luck until then, brother," said Ryder in response. "Don't die on me just yet." He threw his fist out to Khilor who looked at it.

Khilor smiled then pressed his fist against Ryder's. "Until then little brother. By the way, send Blair my best wishes."

Ryder nodded and said, "I don't know about that. How about you tell him when we see each other."

Khilor nodded and smiled.

They turned and went their separate ways.

On his way back to Nero, Ryder strapped his belt around his waist and noticed a dark black ship hovering over Nero.

'Finally. A bed,' thought Ryder.

Ryder reached Nero and both looked up to the lowered ramp that was about twenty yards above them. They jumped and landed on the ramp. The two walked up and into the main hold where Katie was waiting to see Ryder.

Her eyes widened at how much he had changed. His hair was snow white. His yellow and orange eyes seemed dull but full of anger. His finger and toe nails were purple from the continuous pulling of finger nails which haven't been close to healing. There were scars on his legs and shoulders from gashes he had received. The skin color of his hands and toes were peach compared to the rest his pale body. She knew what that meant.

Tears rolled down her face as she ran up to Ryder and gave him a big, warm hug.

Slowly, Ryder wrapped his arms around her too and buried his head in her shoulder.

Nero suddenly spoke up and said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we need to get out of here. We're still above a max-security prison, and they know that Ryder, the most wanted man in the galaxy, has escaped."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course," said Katie sniffling. "I'll get us out of here. Ryder just go back to your room and rest. I'm sure you need it."

"Okay," said Ryder gently as Nero showed him the way to his room. Nero opened the door for him and showed him to his bed.

"If you're still in here by the time we get back, I'll come in and get you," said Nero.

"Sounds good," Ryder replied as he laid down on his bed.

He took off his hoodie and got under the covers.

'It's so warm,' he thought. 'But tomorrow, I get back to work.'

Ryder closed his eyes ready to drift to sleep, but the image of Dr. Boswell came to mind. Just like how he killed him in that room, Ryder killed him from his mind and peacefully fell asleep.

Long and gruesome chapter. When it comes to the torture storyline, if you know, you know. I appreciate the reviews; however, I'm too far along to change something that could have been done towards the beginning. Please keep commenting so I can learn how to be a better writer. Until the next chapter…

~Aldon